Pinkie Explores the Dark

by David Silver

5 - Stairs

You turn back towards the rest of the basement and approach one of those boxes. You're certain it must have awesome things in it. Shame it's all nailed shut.

"She put those down here years ago," sighs out the filly.

You don't want to give up that easily. You grab the edge of the crate and give it a mighty heave with a little growl, but it's really not moving. And that's when you feel silly. You see a hammer hanging right there on the wall!

You bounce up onto a table and snatch it off the wall without a problem, then fall back to the box. Wedging the pointy bit between the wood planks, you pull and twist and work that thing like crazy until it pops open with an unfortunately loud crack.

You hear her, "Are you down in the basement?!"

Heart suddenly racing, you pull open the box a little, just enough for you to fit in, and hop inside, then pull it down back into place, silently hoping that she won't notice the damage, or you.

You can see her light swaying from the crack in the box you left behind. "Is that you? Turn off that light!" The lighting changes subtly and you can hear the flame of the furnace die down to nothing. "You're on thin ice, filly. You think I can't punish you now? Think again! Try me one more time..."

There is a silent pause before the swaying light begins to depart. You can hear her old hooves on the steps as she makes her exit.

Once you're sure she's long gone, you carefully lift the lid back up.

"You're on your own," warns the filly. "I don't dare make light again."

Well, shoot. You reach around in the box, searching without any light to work with. You find something. It's rectangular and a little heavy. Exploring it with your hooves, you feel certain it's a picture frame. You're not sure what that'll be good for, but you tuck it away in your hair just in case. It feels important.

In that darkness, you slip out of the box, pull the lid back down, and make for the stairs. You end up following that old mare's scent. It's like a bunch of flowers that someone left out for too long, pungent and sharp. Still, it leads you to the stairs and you start ascending carefully. "I'll be back," you whisper as you go.

"Don't," replies the ghost filly simply. "Get away, please."

You can't think of more to say to her just that moment, you instead emerge from the basement into the gloom, though still lighter than the basement, kitchen.

You hear sniffling. You follow the sound, that faint noise, to a cupboard and pull it open to reveal the colt, curled up on the far side. There are a few plates in there with him, but they look long unused.

He looks up sharply when his hiding place opens up, but the fear in his eyes recedes a little when he realizes it's you. "You're... alright?"

You bob your head quickly. "Your sister helped."

He gave the saddest little smile. "I knew she could be..."

The way he said that... "Isn't she usually nice?"

He shook his head quickly. "Oh no! That's why she... why... Mom didn't do that for nothing." He put a hoof behind his head. "She's a... I mean, she was..."

You put a hoof on his shaking shoulder, even if he feels like he's mostly not there. "She's a nice filly."

He smiles a little, but it goes away quickly. "I knew she could be. You need to get out of here. Mom's getting angrier every time."

About that... "Your sister, she, you know, the furnace, but you?"

He cringes sharply.

"Please?"

He lets out a sigh, his entire form dimming. "Do I have to?"

"Well, no..." you admit. "But it might help. I promise I won't laugh or anything."

"Promise?"

"Super promise!"

"Super mega promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" You place your hoof against your eye, sealing the solemn oath that you actually just made up like right there on the spot. It feels right though. You'll have to use that more often.

The colt smiles at the silly oath, but he seems to get it. "Alright... Mom didn't do this. It was all my fault really, but... she blamed sis..." He points up. "I was on the roof, where I wasn't supposed to be... Sis was with me, telling me that. I didn't listen. It was fun up there... One of the shingles came lose... I fell. Those..." He swallows hard. "Those... The fence... I landed on it..."

You cringe at the mental image of it. "S-So what happened?"

"I died," he said simply, dimming again. "I died and it was all my own stupid fault. Mom didn't see it that way. She blamed sis. She said sis lured me up there, pushed me. She couldn't... wouldn't... She thought I was a perfect colt, her perfect colt. She was so mad..." He slumps to the floor of the cupboard. "It's all my fault she threw sis in that bad place! I killed her!"

Author's Note:

https://www.poll-maker.com/results948889x4CC7858C-40#tab-2

You're tempted a few ways, but before you go, you want to make sure you've looked around.

---

Things become a bit more clear.

Inventory: Picture+frame, Doll, Assorted toys and balloons, party popgun, length of twine

Choices!
1) Insist it's not his fault
2) Agree it is his fault
3) Drag him down to the basement, somehow.
4) It's time mother learned the truth!
5) Hey wait, we never looked at that picture!
6) Let's get out of here. You can see a backdoor from here.

Comments

[No one is home]

1) and 5) Obviously it's not his fault, but maybe we should examine what evidence we have before we go confronting anypony. There's clearly alot going on here that we don't know about yet.

[Tangerine Blast]

3 and 5. Go make up with the sis

[nekoparalover]

5

[Daremo]

there off the wall - there on the wall

problem and fall - problem, then fall

hop into the box - hop inside ("the box" appears twice in the same sentence, making the second time redundant. Pronouns to the rescue!)

He smiled a little, but it went away  - He smiles a little, but it goes away 

He cringed sharply - He cringes sharply

He let out - He lets out

actually had just - actually had just

It felt right though. You'd have - It feels right though. You'll have

---

5

Even at our young and tender age we know that nopony wins when we play the blame game. Let's provide what comfort we can and take a look at that picture before we decide where to go next. With any luck it's something that will make the colt feel better or provide a distraction from his negative feelings.

---

Today's chapter was great! It allowed Pinkie to cover what I'm guessing were the most popular choices with a little left over to move ahead.

However, except for 5, none of the choices today seem like particularly good ideas, all things considered.

Telling him it wasn't his fault when she doesn't know seems like it may push things down a bad path for him and/or the filly, whose names we have STILL not asked. In my heart I could not say that he was at fault for falling. If he's telling the truth, then his fall was an accident and his sister's murder falls on their mother. But we don't know for sure what happened and Pinkie is a little young to conduct a thorough investigation.

Telling him is was his fault is all of that and mean besides.

Going to confront the dire mother cant be a good idea.

If the colt is right and his sister died for his accident, I cant imagine she's in a mood to see him right now.

I've been reading carefully for signs that the mother is the good pony and the foals are evil or at least bad and deceptive, but nothing yet beyond hints that the filly had a willful or possibly mean nature. The balance of the evidence so far makes me believe they were normal children coping with life in a bad home, and the dire mother was playing favorites and fixated on harsh punishments for perceived sins.

How can we get everyone smiling?

[tsaukpaetra]

2, 5. Technically it is indeed his fault for being disobedient, but mistakes are meant to be made, you have to move on. Perhaps that picture can be used to help remind him that he's not a bad pony?
And we have the inception of the first Pinkie Promise! we need a party stat!
Keep going! ;)

[RadicalDishonesty]

7860194

I've been reading carefully for signs that the mother is the good pony and the foals are evil or at least bad and deceptive, but nothing yet beyond hints that the filly had a willful or possibly mean nature.

Whenever dealing with ghosts, at least until proven otherwise, I assume ghosts are twisted mentally. They cannot let go of what happened when they were alive and it produces an even worse effect compared to an obsessive living person, as there is no physical needs to distract, nor are people going to be coming to you to balance you out.

And typically your emotional state is what keeps you tethered to the real world... so it only gets worse!

Again I'm going to crib your vote though: 5

Thanks for the good reasoning, sucker!

I was going to vote for both, before I did, though. For the same but opposite reason: because blaming exactly one person is not correct. Too many factors contributed.

[David Silver]

7860194 Typos fixed. If only trauma were so easy! Pinkie, I mean you, you're on the case. Right?

[Maxemilien]

7859889 What he said

[Prismfire Productions]

1, 3, 4

[terrycloth]

Hmm. Maybe 3 and 4? If you get them all together maybe they can realize what happened and stop being ghosts or something.

[Cuber Snuggles]

1 and 5. 1 because how could he kill his sister if he was dead? It's the mothers fault for playing favorites and ignoring the obvious.

Five because maybe something in that picture will make the colt (sorry, I forgot his name) remember the good ol' times before his mother became a psychotic child murderer.

[Kichi]

3. Knowing Pinkie, she could just take him like nothing. How? Is Pinkie being Pinkie.

[Daremo]

7860749

sorry, I forgot his name

You haven't forgotten. The foals' names have not been revealed, despite Pinkie asking directly back in chapter 2.

I think our clever author is toying with us.

[NicLove]

Do 5, the do 3, then 4

[I need a new name tbh]

4) all the way!

BTW, this is amazing!